Friday, 25 December 2009

(500) Films of Empire - Day 101 - Merry Christmas

413 - Finding Nemo - 4 starsWidely regarded as Pixar's finest hour, both critically and commercially, so I thought that this would be much higher up the list.The film follows Marlin, a neurotic, unfunny clownfish as he searches the ocean for his missing son Nemo, who is stuck in a fish tank as the inhabitants attempt a POW-style prison break. There is family drama, action, comedy, everything a great family film needs. Yet as with all great Pixar productions they appeal to adults and children alike.It still amazes me how Pixar continue to improve film after film. The quality of the animation is the highest they had produced, yet they improved again with WALL-E and Up. The underwater world is stunning to look at yet back up with some of the best characters in the Pixar universe; Ellen DeGeneres as the Leonard Shelby of the reef, Bruce the shark, Geoffrey Rush as Nigel the pelican, the whole cast of the fish tank and of course, the Seagulls "Mine!". The best ensemble since Toy Story.Further proof that Pixar are one of the very best studios at work today and have the highest overall rating do far on the Top 500 list.

451 - Speed - 2 stars"I saw this in a movie about a busthat had to SPEED around a city, keeping its SPEED over fifty, and if its SPEED dropped, it would explode. I think it was called, "TheBusThatCouldn'tSlowDown." - Homer J. Simpson.Don't expect anything too deep from Speed as this is what I call a Ronseal film, in that "it does exactly what it says on the tin". After a tense opening sequence involving an elevator rescue, we get 60 minutes of a bus speeding around the city, great chemistry between Keanu & Sandra, Dennis Hopper hamming it up, running, jumping, explosions, etc.